


He's Dangerous

by Brooklyns_Late



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Also Albert is the BEST friend, Angst with a Happy Ending, But it was written to be platonic, Can Be Read As Romantic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I promise Tommy's ok, Injury, Loss of Control, Minorly graphic, Panic Attacks, Race is scared ok?, Superpowers, but like, more or less, not that bad, this is not a happy story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22767148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brooklyns_Late/pseuds/Brooklyns_Late
Summary: To be a powered kid might have been the hardest thing Race could imagine. He'd watched enough of his friends and brothers struggle through controlling and learning to hide it enough to keep themselves safe. At age sixteen, well past the average age to develop powers, he'd thought he was one of the lucky ones. A normal kid.He'd never wished so hard that something could've been true.
Relationships: Albert DaSilva/Racetrack Higgins, Racetrack Higgins & Albert DaSilva
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU Notes: About 5% of everyone in New York has some kind of powers. Due to the potential power the small group holds, powered folk have been repressed for years. Refused for work, kicked out of public spaces, generally despised.  
> Due to the hate that comes with the territory, your average newsies lodging house is around 45% powered kids, the lodge being the only steady place to go.  
> The average powered kid develops powers around the age of eight to ten years old. They come in slowly but, depending on the power, can prove problematic for a small child to handle and especially to hide.

**~Race~**

  
"Everyone out of the room! Go to your bunks, shut the doors and don't come down here until it's clear!"  
There was the sound of movement, the boys rushing up the stairs to get away, doors slamming above him.  
"Finch, Stitch, take Tommy to the back room. I don't know if there's anything we can do for'im but we'll damn well make'im comfortable while we try."  
Two voices, "Ye'sir."  
The emergency lockdown went smoothly. Everyone locked themselves in their rooms, moving swiftly and staying as far away as possible from the boy in the middle of the room, curled in a ball, sobbing into his knees.  
The voices around him were gone, leaving only those in his head. He wasn't sure if that was better or worse.  
With nothing to distract him, the scene from just moments before flashed through his mind. Tommy had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadn't done anything to deserve it.  
" _You might've killed him_ _!"_ Sparks rippled through his body as Finch's voice flashed through his memory. Finch never yelled. That wasn't normal. Race had really screwed up this time.  
With his eyes screwed shut, he watched his friend's body fly across the room, hitting the wall with nothing but a hollow thud before dropping to the ground.  
He hadn't gotten up.  
He hadn't moved at all.  
He could feel energy bursting violently from his body as sobbed into his knees. Something broke across the room but he barely heard it over the voices in his head. The image of Tommy's body on the floor was burned into his brain but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to the empty room and the chaos he was creating. Lockdowns had always scared him but he always had someone there with him. Holding him and telling him things would be fine.  
He'd never been the one they needed protection from.  
_"He's alive._ _"_ Stitch's voice in his head remind him, _"No thanks to you."_ He hadn't said that part aloud. But Race had heard it. He'd heard it coming from the eyes of everyone in the room. They hated him.  
_"Everyone out of the room!"_ He watched his friend hit the wall again as Jack's voice reminded him that he was alone. All the guys were in lockdown. Locked away from _him_. Scared he'd hurt them.  
No one could have been more scared than he was himself.  
He hated lockdowns. Hated hiding and worrying. But at the moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to be up there, curled up on his bunk with someone's arms around him, telling him he was safe. That everything would be alright.  
_"Tommy!"_  
_*Thud*_  
_"Everyone out!"_  
_*Thud*_  
_"He's not safe to be around."_  
_*Thud*_  
_"Are we gonna die Jack?"_  
_*Thud*_  
"Racer." A different voice broke through the sounds that were assaulting his mind. This one wasn't angry. Or scared. Or blaming him. "Race. Hey." It was such a gentle voice. The same voice that whispered reassurance in his ear during normal lockdowns. He just wanted the them to take him in their arms. Hold him and tell him things would be ok. That it wasn't his fault. That he was safe.  
But he was alone.  
He knew he was alone. They'd gone into lockdown and everyone hated him. He couldn't bring himself to look up and make it true.

* * *

**~Albert~**

  
He wasn't supposed to be down here. Everyone was supposed to be upstairs, locked in their rooms, safe from the energy coursing through the common room. Albert had been a part of enough lockdowns to know the procedure. He wasn't new, it wasn't as if he'd been slow and gotten himself locked out. In fact, he was in charge of their room in Race's absence. He'd been the one to take the boys to their room, do a headcount, be aware of who was in the back helping with medical, and to lock the door. And he'd done it.  
He'd just used his key more than once.  
As he crept carefully down the stairs, he could already feel every hair on his body standing on end from the electricity in the air. He knew he was making a dangerous choice. Tommy was unconscious and they weren't sure he'd wake up.  
But this was different. This was Race. He was his best friend and he was scared. He was far too powerful for someone who'd only just discovered his powers and hadn't yet figured out how to control them. But he wasn't a monster.  
And he'd never hurt Albert before.


	2. Chapter 2

**~Albert~**

The common room was a wreck. The few pieces of furniture they had had been flung to the sides, cards and papers and anything small were flying around as if in a wind storm, electricity sparking and shooting out in all directions and right in the middle of the room, in the only completely clear spot, was Race. Huddled in a ball and shaking like a leaf. The eye of the storm.  
Albert moved carefully towards his best friend, collecting and extinguishing the small fires that had started due to the sparks. He moved quietly, not wanting to scare Race any more than he already obviously was, and he was doing well, until,  
"Albert!" A quiet hiss of his name n came from behind Albert, making him jump, nearly dropping the flame he'd been removing from the edge of a couch. He spun around quickly, not hesitating to shush the voice, even before he could tell where and who it'd come from.  
"Al, what the hell are you doing? Why aren't you upstairs? You were supposed to do headcount!"  
"I did. Everyone's there, everyone's fine, the doors are locked. And then I came down here."  
"Well why the hell did you do that!?" He wasn't quite sure if Jack looked scared, confused, or furious. Probably a little of each. But that didn't matter.  
"Because he's scared."  
"He's _scared_?" Yeah, Jack definitely thought he was crazy. "Look at this! I get that he's probably freaked but he's _dangerous_ Albert, you could get hurt!"  
"So could he."  
"Seriously Albert? Seriously? I don't think you're understanding this here-"  
"Would you keep your voice down, you'll freak him out."  
"-he's the one DOING THE HURTING" Before Jack had even finished the last word, a bolt of energy was shooting right at them. Albert barely had a second to think before shoving the door closed, pushing Jack in behind it and taking the hit for himself.  
Only, it didn't hit him.  
That didn't make sense. He'd been right in the line of the blast. It had been coming straight towards him, towards Jack's shout and yet...  
He turned around to the closed door behind him. The big black burnt spot hadn't been there before had it? No. The smoke was fresh and it looked to be smoldering a little. He reached out to touch it, hot. Anyone else would have been burned on contact.  
It didn't make sense. The shot had hit right where he was standing. Maybe a little left but it shouldn't have missed.  
What if... It was a long shot. But maybe... Another, smaller bolt came shooting out a few feet to his left and Albert made a split second decision, sticking his hand out in front of it.  
The bolt changed direction, going straight around his hand and hitting a lamp on the table behind it.  
Race couldn't hurt him. It made sense. His powers were reacting out of fear but he knew, somewhere in him, that Albert meant him no harm. He was safe.  
"Racer," he called out gently. No answer. He moved slowly towards his best friend, speaking up just a little. He didn't want to scare him any more than he needed to. "Race. Hey."  
Albert knelt down next to Race's sobbing form. He looked so small, so scared. The energy exploding from him was more than enough to scare away the others, but all Albert could see was the terrified boy at the heart of the chaos.  
He could remember when he was about six years old and had almost burned down a neighbor's apple tree when a stray dog had chased him into their yard. Fear was the biggest risk when your powers were new. And his at the time had been nowhere near as strong as what Race gave off. It was dangerous, that was for sure. But he knew his best friend. And he knew that leaving him all alone could only hurt him more.  
He laid a hand softly on Race's shaking shoulder and despite his caution, Race flinched violently, a wave of pure energy exploding from him. But like everything else, it missed Albert completely.  
"Racer," he whispered softly to him, the way he did when they were locked away in the bunk rooms. "Tony, hey. It's me. I've got you. You're alright."

* * *

**~Race~**

He was real.  
It wasn't his imagination after all. Albert DaSilva, the self jeopardizing idiot, was there. A sturdy, comforting, _real_ hand on his shoulder, keeping him grounded.  
He'd never felt anything so good.  
Race turned, burying his face in his best friend's shirt. He could feel Albert's arms wrap around him immediately, strong and warm and safe as he inhaled the familiar scent of dirt and whiskey and something else just so distinctly _Albert_. And for the first time since the commotion had all started, he felt the energy begin to die down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarity:  
> Albert has powers pretaining to fire, in just about every capacity. He can create it, control it, and is completely heat resistant.   
> His powers came in especially early for most, at about five years old, is one of the most skilled and controled of any of the Newsies, and often is the one to help the younger boys with controling their own powers.


End file.
